Days of our Trailers has the skinny on the Brady Campaign being handed their asses. Brady Campaign president Dennis Henigan was challenged to a debate by Joe Walsh, a representative in Illinois. Instead of gracefully accepting the challenge Dennis decided it would be better if he made stupid demands like holding the Debate in Washington DC. Mr. Walsh returned with this skillfully crafted retort [PDF]:
Your desire to hold the debate in Washington D.C. is a perfect example of the fundamental problem with Washington D.C.
Washington politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists, are too obsessed with each other, the Washington insiders. In your November 23rd press release, you yourself emphasized how critical it is that “[my] colleagues in House and Senate, and their staffs, as well as the national press corps” attend our debate.
Who cares?
The last time I checked I represent the folks of Illinois 8th Congressional District, not Congressional staff, Washington lobbyists, or the national press corps. I was sent here to Washington to fight for me constituents and their rights and interests. Why would I care what Washington insiders have to say?
Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned speculates Henigan’s desire to hold the debate in Washington could be due to the lack of Brady Campaign money to send their president to Illinois. I like this theory if for not other reason than the Brady Campaign being broke demonstrates the sheer advancement of gun rights in this country since the early ’90’s.
On the other hand I think the response by Mr. Walsh is also likely the truth. Henigan wants his buddies in Congress there so they can be impressed by his ability to shit all over American rights. Remember most of of “representatives” don’t think of us as constituents but as peasants needing to be controlled. They love Henigan’s message because a disarmed populace is much easier to control than one armed to the teeth. It would be difficult for a congressman to convince an average person that they need to have their rights stripped for “the greater good.” On the other hand it’s trivially easy to convince fellow tyrant wannabes that the peasants need to be disarmed and Henigan gives these tyrants the talking points they need when debating these issues at the Capitol.
We must remember that members of Congress do not need to convince you and me that stricter controls must be placed on firearm ownership, they need to convince each other. Those men and women wearing suits and calling themselves representatives are the only voices that matter when it comes to voting on legislation. Our so-called “representatives” know a majority of the United States doesn’t care what happens in Washington so long as the “representatives” can give a handful of talking points explaining why they “had” to vote the way they did.
Henigan knows his place, to be the expresser of talking points for the tyrants in Washington. The last thing anybody from the Brady Campaign wants to deal with is a debate held somewhere accessible by the general public because that requires explaining to the public why they’re too stupid to manage their own lives.